Global stocks fall on North Korea, new Trump trade worries

And now psywar

AS Peshawar and Dera Ismail Khan came under terrorist attacks on Thursday killing 13 and injuring 90 unsuspecting victims, a Tehrik Taliban Pakistan leader threatened to attack more cities inside Punjab, calling on the population to leave them, thus signaling the beginning of psychological warfare, or psywar. The surge in attacks is an expression of desperation. It indicates that the situation could become worse before it starts improving. Hakimullah Mehsud has not only threatened to conduct attacks inside Lahore, Multan, and Rawalpindi, but also the federal capital. His statement, however, is indicative of the militants' weak spots. While he has claimed the attack in Lahore was motivated by the military operation in Swat, the fact that it came weeks after the operation had started, and only after tanks and heavy artillery started rolling into South Waziristan, shows that despite the claims of solidarity every militant group is for itself in the ultimate analysis. TTP spokesman Muslim Khan's intercept, pleading for help, reveals the same weakness. If one was to accept Hakimullah Mehsud's statement that the TTP was "looking for this (Lahore) target for a long time," what one would conclude is that it is finding it increasingly difficult to penetrate the Punjab heartland. Despite the fact that the police is not trained or equipped to fight the terrorists, it succeeded in barring the terrorists from entering the ISI headquarters. The Army, which so far has lost 90 soldiers, including officers, during the Swat operation, is fully determined to face the challenge as General Kayani's statement on Thursday indicates. The initiation of psywar by the militants is meant to spread panic among the population and weaken the government's resolve to fight. Thankfully, Pakistan is run by an elected government and, unlike the Musharraf administration, is dealing with the situation with the full support of Parliament. What is more, the PPP and the PML(N) are finally on the same page. The military is wholeheartedly carrying out the policy devised by the government. What is needed is that the security agencies, which are increasingly under attack, improve their efficiency and fully concentrate on eliminating the threat faced by the country. Meanwhile, provincial intelligence agencies have to be provided the sophisticated equipment that they have been clamouring for to intercept messages between terrorists. Their demand for electronic gadgets which can help them detect explosives from a distance, to be better able to ward off attacks, should also be met. The need for cooperation between the federal and the provincial governments was never so dire as it is today.